Editorial|Editorial
Last winter was ideal for the ringed seal.
Saimaa ringed seal WWF’s Norppalive, which followed life, ended this year last Wednesday. There was no longer any point in continuing the follow-up, as the ringing season was practically over. The ringworm can be seen on islets and shores just at the time of hair loss.
The winter that went to the Saimaa ringed seal was favorable: the snow came early, it came in abundance, and the mild periods in between condensed the kines used by the ringed seal to make them suitably layered. So for a long time, there was a decent traditional winter for the ringed seals.
A good winter is also reflected in the production of chicks: Metsähallitus estimates that more than 90 cubes were born.
The entire ringed seal stock will fall in the autumn, and there are now legitimate hopes for the stock to strengthen slightly. It is estimated that there are more than 400 adult ringed seals. At the end of the 1980s, there were only a couple of hundred.
Norpa’s endangered classification has also eased by a notch, from extremely endangered to very endangered. So there is little hope, but in a small number of ringed seals, the genetic heritage of the species is unnecessarily narrow in any case. It makes the ringed seal vulnerable.
Ringed seal the recovery is probably due, at least in part, to the spring net fishing ban. The net ban in the ringed seal areas in Saimaa will last from mid-April to the end of June, but every year in the early days of July, six dead fish are reported in the nets.
There are currently two normative initiatives under consideration in Parliament: a citizens’ initiative on a year-round ban on net fishing and an initiative by members of the Coalition Party to extend the ban on net fishing until the end of July.
The Representatives’ Initiative will have a greater chance of going through, as a year-round online ban would certainly provoke strong opposition from professional and subsistence fishermen in the area. Even the slightest improvement will help the ring.
The editorials are HS’s statements on a topical issue. The writings are prepared by HS’s editorial staff and reflect the magazine principle.
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